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Plan your trip to Vivid Sydney this year

Plan ahead and use public transport to travel to all Vivid Sydney Precincts and Venues. Don’t forget you’ll need a valid Opal card to travel on public transport services — make sure to top it up in advance too!

How to get there

Train

Trains run frequently to the city on weekdays and every 10 to 15 minutes on weekends so there are plenty of services running throughout the festival.

All Vivid Sydney precincts are within short walking distance of key train stations and transport hubs.

Wynyard Station for The Rocks, Circular Quay and Royal Botanic Garden as well as Barangaroo South and Darling Harbour precincts.

Central or Town Hall Stations for the Darling Harbour and Tumbalong Park precincts.

Kings Cross Station for the Kings Cross precinct.

Milsons Point Station for the Luna Park precinct.

Circular Quay trains: On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights during Vivid access to trains at Circular Quay transport hub is via Loftus Street only while the one-way walking route is in place. Anyone intending to catch a train home from Vivid should allow plenty of extra walking time as it will take longer to access services due to large crowds. Train customers are encouraged to catch a train from Wynyard or Martin Place instead.

NOTE: On Saturday nights and the long weekend, trains will not stop at Circular Quay Station between 6pm and 11pm due to the large crowds in the highly popular precinct. Alight the train at nearby Wynyard or Martin Place instead.

For more details on train services during Vivid Sydney and to plan your trip ahead of time, transportnsw.info.

Bus

Extra buses added throughout the festival. Due to road closures, buses will use alternate routes.

Thousands of extra bus services will run during the festival to help you get to the Vivid Sydney precincts in the city and outer areas. On weekends additional services will start running on major corridors into the City from around 3:30pm. To help you get home extra services will leave the City from around 8:30pm until late.

Remember that while roadclosures are in place in the city from 7pm on Monday to Thursday nights, from 6pm on Friday nights and from 5pm on weekends, buses will be using alternate routes and temporary bus stops until the roads have reopened. Buses that usually run to and from Circular Quay will instead run to and from Martin Place at Elizabeth Street and Castlereagh Street.

Other bus services in and out of the city may also be affected so plan ahead. For more information on buses during Vivid Sydney visit transportnsw.info.

Ferry

Ferries are a very popular way to get around the city during Vivid and services will be very busy and reach capacity early, particularly on weekends.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights during Vivid access to ferry wharves at Circular Quay transport hub is via Loftus Street only while the one-way walking route is in place. Anyone intending to catch a ferry home from Vivid should allow plenty of extra walking time as it will take longer to access services due to large crowds. Ferry customers are encouraged to get their wharf earlier than normal to avoid missing the ferry.

Anyone planning to catch a ferry is strongly encouraged to have a back up plan in mind and consider catching one of the frequent trains or buses instead. For more information on ferries during Vivid Sydney visit transportnsw.info.

Long queues are expected particularly on the weekends.

Light Rail

Plenty of extra services added, and will run on the weekends until midnight during the festival.

Light rail services operate between Central in the CBD and Dulwich Hill in Sydney’s Inner West. Light rail is a great way to access the Darling Harbour precincts using Exhibition Centre or Convention Light rail stops.

Extra services will run on the weekends during Vivid. For more information on Light rail services visit transportnsw.info.

On Foot

On the busier Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as Queen's Birthday Monday, when large crowds are expected, one-way flow walking routes will be in place and are designed to help you enjoy a safe Vivid Sydney experience.

The Rocks, Circular Quay & the Royal Botanic Garden:

Martin Place, Circular Quay East & The Royal Botanic Garden:Catch a train to Wynyard or Martin Place and head to The Rocks via George St following the Light Walk towards the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Here, you can make a pit stop at one of the many food trucks before continuing on around the roundabout to the promenade along Circular Quay where you'll reach the Museum of Contemporary Arts and First Fleet Park near the wharves. Exit out of Circular Quay via Pitt St at Gateway Sydney. From here you can head home via Pitt St and Bridge St.

If you want to continue on to Customs House and the Sydney Opera House, walk via Reiby Place and Loftus Street then the eastern Circular Quay promenade. At the Opera House Forecourt you can access the Royal Botanic Garden through the one-way entrance gates. At the end of the Garden Walk you'll exit at Macquarie St where you can head home via Albert St and Phillip St to get back to your closest transport hub.

Barangaroo & Darling Harbour:See the lights in Sydney’s buzzing Barangaroo precinct by catching a train to Wynyard and using the underground Wynyard Walk pathway. From there you can head down to Darling Harbour and Tumbalong Park via the King Street Wharf promenade where you can see the Australian Maritime Museum projections and a pyrotechnic water fountain and laser display showcased on the water.

Car

Road closures will be in place in the Sydney CBD, Circular Quay and The Rocks until midnight each night.

Road closures will be in place in the city each night during the 23-day festival. The city is no place for cars while roads are closed for Vivid Sydney so leave the car at home and catch public transport. If you have to drive be aware of the key road closure times as vehicles are not allowed to drive along or exit driveways onto closed roads and will have to wait until roads have been safely reopened.

Monday to Thursday nights: minor closures from 7pm in The Rocks and West Circular Quay

Friday nights: moderate closures from 6pm on roads north of Bridge St in The Rocks and Circular Quay

Sunday nights and Mon 11 June:moderate closures from 5pm on roads north of Bridge St in The Rocks and Circular Quay from 5pm.

Saturday nights: major closures from 5pm on roads north of Hunter St in The Rocks, Circular Quay and the Sydney CBD

Long weekend Saturday and Sunday nights: major closures from 5pm on roads north of Hunter St in The Rocks, Circular Quay and the Sydney CBD including the closure of Cahill Expressway exit to Macquarie St.

Taxi

On Friday nights and weekends when major road closures are in place, some taxi ranks in the Sydney CBD and Circular Quay will be relocated to temporary alternate locations. For details on taxi rank locations use the interactive road closure map or visit transportnsw.info.

Realtime Transport Info and Apps

The real-time trip planner at transportnsw.info helps you plan your travel by train, bus, ferry and light rail and on foot using the most up-to-date service information. Download the Opal Travel app and other real-time transport apps to help you get around at transportnsw.info/apps.

Opal Card

To hop on and off public transport, all you need is an Opal card. Opal cards are smartcard tickets you keep, reload and reuse to pay for your travel on trains, ferries, buses and light rail – anywhere within the Opal network.

Adult and Child/Youth Opal cards are available over the counter from more than 2,100 Opal retailers.

Don’t forget to top up your Opal card before you head out to Vivid Sydney as queues for top-up machines at stations will be long during the festival. You can top up at an Opal retailer or online via the Opal Travel App.

Travelling with Kids

You will be able to enjoy and experience Vivid Sydney across 23-days and nights from 25 May to 16 June. Please keep in mind that the festival’s busiest nights are expected to be each Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and every night of the June long weekend. Lights On occurs at 6pm, and concludes at 11pm; however some precincts have an earlier start and finish time.

Kids will be captivated by the Vivid Light Walk that features amazing interactive projections and light art installations. Don’t forget to head out early with the kids, travel during the week so there’s more room to move around and plan to eat earlier too.

Accessibility

Vivid Sydney is committed to delivering an accessible and inclusive event for family and friends. Information available at vividsydney.com/accessibility will assist you to plan your ‘door-to-door’ Vivid Sydney experience, including accessible transport options and relevant precinct activities.

You can also download an accessible map [in PDF format] closer to the event or collect a printed copy from the Vivid Sydney information booths for step-free routes and pathways, viewing areas and other accessible amenities. The Vivid Sydney website also includes audio descriptions and converted text descriptions of Light Walk installations and precincts available closer to the event. For more information visit our access and inclusion page. Huawei are providing tablets with information on Vivid Light installations for visitors who have restricted mobility.

Vivid Sydney is pleased to announce Cushman & Wakefield as the inaugural Access and Inclusion Partner in 2018.